When I was a management consultant we would read briefs written from other teams around the world. The Japanese teams were always raving about both the convenience stores and vending machines in Japan as world leaders in retailing. Given that your average bodega in North America contains questionable food of uncertain age and most vending… Continue reading The Not So Humble Convenience Store and Vending Machines
Tag: Japan
Tokyo – Day 2
This morning, Wen and I had our jet lag kick in and were out of the hotel room by 7:00 am. Given that it was so early, we decided to go wing it, and follow the Kanda River around Tokyo. The river loops from the west, up to the north, and then runs east over… Continue reading Tokyo – Day 2
Tokyo – Day 1
Getting on the plane to Tokyo was a clue that we were going to a wholly different world. The seats were too narrow. You could get free postcards of the plane – on the plane. The meal came with metal knives. The in-flight entertainment system had a ‘Bird View Camera’ that streamed what was below… Continue reading Tokyo – Day 1
Nowhereland
I’ve always had a perverse interest in how humans simply abandon things. We’re definitely the only species that covet objects and then abandon them as soon as our internal calculus judges them to be no longer valuable. I’m not talking about no longer wanting your old plates or bicycle, rather the fact that we construct… Continue reading Nowhereland